"Chesterman Sunset"

"Seascape (storm)"

Peter Doig’s exhibition at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery in Vancouver had a lasting influence on Jim Park, then a student at Emily Carr University.

“I was in shock that someone painted that large,” says Park, who recalls how his classmates competed with each other after the 2001 show by the Scottish-born artist to see who could pull off the biggest canvas.

As it turned out, that scale suited Park’s subject matter – the landscape of British Columbia. Park, who was born in South Korea, says using a large canvas is the only way he can capture the sense of loneliness he feels when he watches waves crash on the beach somewhere like Tofino, on the scenic western coast of Vancouver Island.

After art school, Park spent nine years working as an art director by day and toiling in his studio by night. But two years ago, he left his day job to paint full time. He was one of the first artists Vancouver’s Kimoto Gallery chose to represent when it opened last year.

Park, who hikes and sketches on Vancouver Island and at Levette Lake near Squamish, B.C., says his primary interest is the way light interacts with natural places.

“I find it really fascinating. There’s all this information, but there’s shadow and enigma and mystery there too.”

Jim Park is represented by the Kimoto Gallery in Vancouver. His work is priced at $1,800 to $10,000.